Tracey Wye

Ghosthunters who set out to debunk sightings of phantoms have been left reeling after capturing what looks like solid proof of a haunting.

Dean Johnson, 48, and pal Charlie Spalding, 20, visited Bedfordshire’s famously spooky Clophill Church after researching its haunted history only to capture what appears to be the ghost of a hooded monk on film.

Is this the ghost of a hooded monk? PNL-160217-120859001

Clophill has long been associated with satanic rituals and murders, with regular reports of ghost sightings.

Dean said: “We decided to go and take a look, and on arrival we felt no atmosphere and thought we’d had a wasted journey. We went in the daytime to see if it was worth investigating, but we thought it was a bit rubbish. We were only there 10 minutes.”

The pair filmed the approach to the ruined building last Wednesday (February 10) and were preparing to leave when they reviewed the footage in their car.

Dean said: “We spotted the figure out of the corner of our eye. Then we rushed back to the church, but there was no-one there. The tower was locked so whatever it was was heading to a dead end.

“We spoke to some workmen who arrived in their van, and they swore blind they saw a reddy-brown thing in the area.”

Dean cannot explain the apparition and suggests it was either someone having a laugh - or maybe it was a supernatural being.

He said: “We want to got back in the evening now. Maybe there is something more to the place, and we want to investigate further.”

While Dean remains sceptical ghosts exist, he has caught images in the past he cannot explain in Northampton and North Wales.